By Bethany Jarmul

A bear with extra-long fangs. The fangs are dripping
with blood. The blood is the blood of a woman.
A woman bleeds every month. Every month, the moon
has a new name. A new name is a tadpole grown
into a toad. A toad leaps onto a sailboat. A sailboat
capsizes in a storm. A storm wakes a baby. A baby swallows
a button. The button, when pressed, sounds an alarm.
An alarm calls men with guns. Men with guns wave
them in circles. In circles, a family sits to pray.
To pray is to discover a divine bridge. A bridge connects
an island to a continent. A continent belongs to no one.
No one knows the hour of death. Death is an unstoppable
train. A train delivers blood over the mountain. The mountain
loses its top to mining. Mining destroys the habitats of bears.
Bears move into the suburbs. In the suburbs, rows of
look-alike-houses. Look-alike houses full of look-alike
children. Children, when x-rayed, have two sets of fangs.

~~~~~

Bethany Jarmul is an Appalachian writer and poet. She’s the author of two chapbooks, including a mini-memoirTake Me Home available now from Belle Point Press. Her debut poetry collection Lightning Is a Mother is forthcoming with ELJ Editions in 2025. Her work has been published in many magazines including Rattle, Brevity, Salamander, and South Florida Poetry Journal. Her writing was selected for Best Spiritual Literature 2023 and Best Small Fictions 2024, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, The Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and Wigleaf Top 50. Connect with her at bethanyjarmul.com or on social media: @BethanyJarmul.